Kushner still waiting on permanent security clearance

Jared Kushner is still working with an interim security clearance 10 months into President Donald Trump’s administration, according to White House officials and others with knowledge of the matter.

The top adviser and Trump son-in-law, who joined Trump for part of his Asia tour this month, has continued to work on sensitive foreign policy issues and other matters while his application for a permanent clearance remains under review, these people said.

Grassley and Feinstein said Kushner, citing confidentiality, declined to produce documents connected to his security clearance application, which includes a form that has been repeatedly amended to list Kushner’s contacts with foreign officials.

Kushner’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement that Kushner “will be open” to responding to requests from the committee.

Many senior White House officials have obtained a permanent security clearance — some received the clearances five months ago or longer — but interviews and paperwork continue for Kushner, a senior campaign adviser who joined the administration on Day One.

People familiar with the situation say Kushner’s interim clearance allows him to view sensitive material, and that it is valid unless revoked.

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A White House official said there is a backlog given the number of officials in Trump’s administration who joined the government for the first time and did not previously hold security clearances.

A White House official also said the Kushner timeframe is “completely normal” and that the process can often take 300 or more days. Officials added there is heightened scrutiny for officials like Kushner who need the very highest clearance.

Several experts said that each situation is different.

“As a general rule, with respect to clearances, when you have people who have never had one before and they have massive financial and foreign connection and a staggering amount of business interests, like some of the people accompanying Trump, it wouldn’t be unheard of,” said Mark Zaid, a prominent security clearance lawyer.

To obtain a security clearance, officials must complete an SF-86 form, which delineates foreign contacts. They must provide a robust financial history. Then, officials are interviewed extensively — and their family members, friends and former colleagues and bosses are also contacted. The interviews often begin within weeks of the application.

Kushner was interviewed this summer, according to people familiar with the matter, after other officials were interviewed.

He has a number of complicating factors, including complex financial transactions involving his family’s real estate business as well as the changes to his form listing foreign contacts, which now includes more than 100 meetings, including with Russians during the transition.

“I have never seen that level of mistakes,” Charles Phalen, the director of the National Background Investigations Bureau, said in a congressional hearing earlier this fall.

Leslie McAdoo Gordon, a lawyer who has worked on security clearance cases for years, said they are often prioritized for senior White House staff. “The goal has always been 90 days,” she said. “Some of them get resolved in 90 days, but many of them don’t. It can take months. It can occasionally take years. You just have to work the system.”

McAdoo Gordon said the president could eventually approve Kushner’s clearance. She also said there are waivers to expedite the process, and that those who the president needs immediately are often moved to the front of the line.

“From everything you read, it’s apparent there are issues there,” she said. “It’s a labyrinthine process, but it’s usually pretty fair and transparent.”